Majority support outlawing violence against women

A poll conducted by a group of Harvard law students has found that a full 99 percent of Americans are in favor of passing laws that punish men who assault women. The recent high-profile case of NFL star Ray Rice, who in February was recorded punching and knocking out his then-fiancee, has created a firestorm, with protesters in dozens of cities demanding to know why such attacks aren’t already illegal. “For decades, society has forbidden men from beating the snot out of other men, but by having virtually no laws on the books about men beating up on women, society has allowed and even condoned this behavior,” said Hanna Oresteia, the first-year student who organized the poll. “We are calling on lawmakers at the local, state and national levels to get together and ban violent assaults on women.”